Amazing herbs for health, hair, skin.... Stinging Nettles, Yarrow, and Rosemary (in the order they appear above).
Recently, it seems, that many people have been asking me in my workshops:
"What can I do about hair loss, thinning hair as I age?" This is a topic that hits home with me as I have always had very fine and thin hair. More thinning with age? What will I have left?
So I decided to do an experiment with me as the guinea pig. This is all natural, no abuse to the guinea pig's (ME!) skin or eyes as happens in commercial body care product testing.
Keep in mind this is about hair growth. It takes time and a long term commitment (uh-oh!)
1. I have added the following herbal essential oils to my shampoo: Rosemary, oregano, peppermint, and yarrow. I add about 8 drops per ounce of shampoo and I recommend using an all natural shampoo. Chemicals in our hair care products clog the pores of the scalp and contribute to unhealthy hair, scalp, and hair loss. Aubrey Organics products are a nice choice, available at Nature's Storehouse in Canton. Read ingredients for "whole" ingredients, just as you would on a food product label and you can find other natural brands as well. Read the ingredients, not just the "all natural" hype label on the front of the product.
2. I make a tea and pour it over my scalp, making certain to soak my hair, well, through to the scalp, all over my head. It is made with the whole herbs yarrow, nettles, and rosemary. See pictures above. For information on making herbal teas, email me.
I make a quart every 4 days and use 1 cup per day after shampooing. Shampoo less often, the tea lasts longer. Keep it refrigerated and always label your quart jar. It is fine to drink, so no panic if someone should indulge in a 'lil of your herbal, scalp tea.
3. I then massage my scalp in two different ways. One is the general "rub my fingers and knead the scalp" method. The other is placing my fingers in a stationary place on the scalp and shifting the whole scalp back and forth and side to side underneath my fingers. This helps tremendously with scalp circulation and relaxing the scalp muscles around the actual hair shaft. Do this massaging when washing your hair, when applying the above scalp tea, and when spraying on the below concoction of herbs.
4. A scalp spray made up of about 1/3 cup of the above scalp tea which I then add the rosemary, peppermint, and oregano essential oils to it. I am thinking about adding drops of the tinctures of yarrow, nettles, and horsetail as well. This is made to spray onto the scalp, before bedtime, and massage the scalp as per above.
5. Oh, and I am taking a saw palmetto and horsetail herbal tincture (easy to make with the herbs, good vodka, and a month's time to let the herbs "steep" into the vodka. Horsetail is good for hair and skin health and saw palmetto is an herb for hair loss prevention / restoration.
Did I not say I was being a guinea pig?!
Today, as I write, it is November 9th. I have been playing this hair restoration game for about 1 month now. I imagine it will take at least 6 months before I can see any major changes (yes, my hair grows slowly!).
See what I mean about this being a long-term commitment... let's just see if I can stick to this hair restoration challenge and then report back my fabulous results. Then, I will patent my formulas and become the rich, modern day Lady Godiva (Yes, I will also need to make some more of that face cream and take care of aging on the face as well) riding the streets of Potsdam!
Horse or Harley? Horse called Harley?
If all else fails, I still have this gorgeous Doo-Rag (from my Harley riding days), graciously modeled by my Thanksgiving pie pumpkin! I will plop it onto my head and tie into place, forget about making any more scalp tea, and then, I will buy another Harley. Or maybe a horse and I will name her Harley!
Update March 2019: It is 5 1/2 years later, where the hell does the time go?
Time & commitment to the process is absolutely required. I cannot say I have been consistent with above stuff.
What I do now, 5 1/2 years later:
whole foods 100% (well, 98.435%) of the time.
take Synergy multi-vites for women (I only take 2 daily, not the 4)
take Synergy’s whole food vitamin c, magnesium daily, extra vitamin D 2-3 X weekly, and use wild yam herb capsules for general feminine health
rub this oily herb infused goop on my scalp 2-3 times weekly on the nights I am going to wash my hair the next day. Less is more and this bottle lasts for months.
herbal medicinal infusion “teas” for bone, skin, hair. Sometimes this is simple a stinging nettle only infusion. I make 2-4 quarts at a time so I have enough for a couple days to a week.
whole health living AND yoga every day. Well, seriously, yoga (links to many blog posts I have written about Yoga’s amazing benefits for health, weight loss, healing, inner peace…) in every moment but that’s because Yoga is not about the poses.